Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - One popular restaurant in Downtown Buffalo is, once again, shifting operations starting this June, given the decline in population and traffic around that part of the city.
Osteria 166, located at 166 Franklin Street downtown, has announced it will shift to a more private event space model, while continuing dinner service throughout the summer on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturday. Osteria 166 will also open for lunch and dinner for special events at the Buffalo Convention Center, Shea's Performing Arts Center and KeyBank Center.
"After agonizing over the thought for several months, we made the decision that the future of Osteria 166 needs to take a different path," said owner Nick Pitillo in a statement on Friday. "We have pivoted and shifted so many times in the past few years to keep our dream - our baby - going. This decision is another necessary pivot."
With the way the dining and hospitality landscape has dramatically shifted in Downtown Buffalo, Pitillo says they have to shift with the moving tide or get completely washed away.
"This really all started pre-pandemic, when the world started caving in. Everybody had to figure out different things and different pivots to try and survive," Pitillo said in an interview with WBEN. "Prior to that, we had already been moving our business towards catering, and I don't want to say away from a la carte, but certainly moving more into the catering space over the last 10 years. And as everybody knows, since the pandemic hit, it's been very difficult, really, everywhere, but downtown's been a difficult challenge. At this point, we didn't want to put her to bed, we wanted to give her another chance at some viability."
Pitillo says the love and support of their guests has made Osteria the special place it is, and the past 12 years have been beyond what they could have imagined when they opened our doors.
While there have been some signs of recovery with downtown traffic, Pitillo says it still hasn't been enough to make a difference, especially when there are no significant events taking place.
"I've heard 20,000-to-30,000 people a day are not in their offices. I know there's efforts to bring that back, and that's why we're doing what we're doing, to try and make sure we can weather this storm, find out if there's different revenue streams available to us downtown, and keep our employees working. That's a very important part for us as well," Pitillo said.
Pitillo adds he's already received plenty of text messages from fellow business owners downtown, saying they understand where the decision is coming from.
"My business friends, that are in the business, certainly understand the hardships, and we all got to keep adjusting and keep tweaking things to keep going. We're not ready to tap out, so let's keep it moving," he said.
Pitillo adds the Meatball Street Brawl will continue this fall, and gift cards will still be good at Osteria, Villaggio and with Occasions.
If anyone needs a place for a private dinner, happy hour, party or event downtown, Pitillo urges patrons to give the restaurant a call at (716)-858-3118 or email alyssa@osteriabuffalo.com.
"Osteria will still be a part of your lives, just in a different way," he said.